November is traditionally celebrated all over the country as ” National Stamp Collectors’ Month ” It is a time where stamp , letter and postcard collectors celebrate the entire month on the big role that Philippine Postal Corporation is playing . Stamp issuance which promotes art, culture, history , events, flora, fauna and other related events.

Philippine Postal Corporation main lobby

During the 1950’s to 1960’s,1970’s , 1980’s and even up to the early part of the millennium, different stamp clubs would have a lot of activities held to commemorate the event. There are lectures, stamp competitions, exhibitions , guided tours and swap meets where young and old collectors share their passion.

Quezon Philatelic Society members

I would remember attending events hosted by different stamp clubs – years ago and stamp collectors would be very busy sharing their stamp collections to the public. Presidential Proclamation Number 494 signed by former President Fidel V. Ramos declares the month of November as National Stamp Collecting Month (NSCM). President Fidel V. Ramos is an avid stamp collector and started collecting stamps during his teens. Thus he was one of the special guests of honor during last year’s celebration. In a Presidential Decree 490 during the time of President Marcos – He proclaimed November 24 to 30, 1968 as National Philatelic Week.

Mr. Carlos Co and Engineer Ranjo

Here are some of the events that Philippine Postal Corporation will be doing for the entire month:

Pope Francis traveling exhibit with mysteries of the rosary- each beads contain a religious stamps or an event related to a religious event.

However missing in the beads are the 1937 Eucharistic Congress commemorative stamps

Pope John Paul 2 exhibit

Among all the current Popes, Pope John Paul 2 had probably the most number of stamp issuance in almost all post offices in the world. Philippine Postal Corporation had issued several Pope John Paul 2 stamps .

Traveling Exhibits:

With this year’s celebration carrying the theme “PHLPost: Going Beyond Tradition,” highlights of the occasion include the opening of the Papal Exhibit Preview of Pope Francis Souvenir sheet to be held at the Manila Central Post Office (November 10 to 14), Manila Cathedral (November 17 to 21), University of Santos Tomas (November 24 to 28). The exhibit showcase the stamps issues which commemorates Papal Visits to the country.

Stamp Launching:

There are several stamps which will be issued by the corporation this month, This includes 2014 Christmas stamps,On November 7 and 8, respectively, will be the launching and presentation of Waterfalls Stamps, in Tinuy-an Bislig City, Surigao del Sur, Tindog stamp to commemorate and thank the local and international community with their help during last year’s Typhoon Haiyan aka Yolanda destruction in Visayas region.

ASEAN stamp design contest winners

The First Place – Mr. Arnaldo C. Ramirez Jr. of Laguna , Second Place – Mr. Rommer Fajardo from Imus , Cavite and Third Place – Mr. Fangon Tadeo IV of Bustos, Bulacan

First Place Winner- ASEAN Stamp Design contest

The winners of the ASEAN stamp design contest will have a chance to have their winning featured in the stamps- They also got Php 5,000 cash, Php 3,000 and Php 2,000 plus a certificate

First Place Winner- Pope Francis stamp

Unveiling ceremonies of the winners of ASEAN stamp design contest “One Asean Stamp Design Contest (winning design will be sent to Thailand as the Philippine Official Entry to the “Joint Issue of ASEAN Community Commemorative Stamp”), Pope Francis commemorative stamps to be issued by January 2015 . There are 4 winners – 2 professionals and 2 amateurs/ students

unveiling of the 160th anniversary commemorative stamp( FIRST STAMP of the Philippines -Queen Isabel 2 )

closer-view of the commemorative stamps and souvenir sheet

The 160th anniversary commemorative stamp of the FIRST Philippine stamp issued in 1854. It seems that all the stamps issuance would keep stamp collectors very busy collecting them for a while. I will try to elaborate of these different stamp issuance in my upcoming posts and articles.

NEW POSTAL ID:

Philippine Postal Corporation will be issuing a brand new Postal ID system with brand new security features . It can also be used to apply for other government IDs. There are scheduled traveling dates in which the public can apply at their regional post offices. We hope that this brand new security features does not include the increase of the application rates.

Letter Writing Contests:

There will also be the letter writing contest “Salamat Po Letter –Writing Caravan” for elementary and high school students from all over the country.

Partners’ Night:

This is like an appreciation night for all the business partners , suppliers and corporate customers that the corporation is handling.

Stamp Collectors’ Night:

Ms. Elvira Yap Go

Ms. Elvira Yap-Go- President, AnakTV Foundation, Chairman Promotion and Publicity, 51st International Eucharistic Congress was also there during the stamp collectors’ night. She had a weekly program on NBN channel 4 and the chairperson of the Columbia International Food Products, Inc (makers of Potchi candy) . The candy corporation was established in 1937. I had a privilege of chatting with her and she gladly signed an autograph .

I am quite fortunate to be one of the several stamp collectors invited by to the collectors’ night. I have seen a lot of familiar faces and well-known personalities during the event. The biggest contingent was from Quezon Philatelic Society headed by Mr. Stanley Siu which traveled more than 4 hours from Quezon province.

Mr. Willard Cheng was also given a token of appreciation by PHLPOST for being a stamp ambassador and his promotion of the hobby. He is an ABS-CBN channel 2 reporter and have been collecting stamps since he was 8 years-old. I have met him on several occasions when he was still a student and if my calculation is right , He must been a stamp collector for at least 20 years!

ceremonial autograph signing

Mr. Willard Cheng , Mr. Ricky Velasco and the author

Mr. Ricky Velasco is another ABS-CBN channel 2 ,DZMM reporter and sky-patroller . When i was holding a postcard of Tacloban , Leyte with some stamps , He told me that his daughter is also a stamp and a postcard collector , I quickly asked her name and i told him that we belong to the same facebook community page which collect , exchange and swap postcards .

Mr. Marc Christian Paul Ison being interviewed by a local television station

I have again met some younger stamp collectors like Mr. Jonathan J. Blaza and his student which eventually became a stamp collector, another is Mr. Marc Christian Paul Ison which also actively promotes philately to his students and amateur stamp collectors.

stamp collectors and PHLPOST employees quickly take the opportunity to let Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares signed an autograph

Note: Stamp Collectors’ Night is not just one day affair to remember, BUT this is a year-long commitment. PHLPOST role is not just to cater the local stamp community but the entire world. There are still BIG shoes to fit- in and there are still some problems that needed to be address properly .